Home of the Day

St. Patrick’s Day brings to mind the “luck of the Irish,” and in business, the word “luck” can get thrown around a lot. “Lucky guy” or “lucky idea” can often be heard when someone is talking about successful people and ideas. Merriam-Webster defines “luck” as an “accidental way things happen without being planned.”

True luck plays only a small part in running a successful business. Successful business owners make their own luck by working hard, staying focused on their goals, and making the tough decisions required to grow and succeed.

A person must take steps to get to a place of being considered lucky. I spent some time looking at what traits most successful business owners and CEOs have in common. Here is what I found:

1. They understand there’s no substitute for hard work

There really isn’t. Successful people make a name for themselves because they work hard, learn from their mistakes, and never give up. Successful people don’t quit when things get tough. They remain focused on their goals every day. There’s really no substitute for time, enthusiasm, strategy and execution. This is a valuable lesson for anyone who is a CEO or in management. Keep going. You are bound to make your own luck.

Many successful entrepreneurs didn’t succeed on their first try. It often takes several attempts to create a sustainable, profitable business. Most thriving businesses became that way because someone took a chance to start and grow them through nurturing a new or unique idea. It takes guts, not luck, to step out and start something. And, taking chances doesn’t end once the business achieves success. It must continue throughout the life of the business to take it to the next level, and then the next level after that.

3. They focus on the customer

I’m a customer experience expert, so a laser focus on the customer is obviously near and dear to my heart. Think about how vital it is to take care of your end user. Customers are the lifeblood for every business and have to be considered in every decision. It’s important to look past just what’s in front of you or on your to-do list. Your customers need to be at the heart of your growth.

4. They don’t procrastinate

Successful business people don’t put off until tomorrow what can be done today. They get the job done – even if the task isn’t their favorite or in an area in which they struggle a bit – so they can move on to the next project. Also, successful people don’t wait for people to find them solutions. They look for them themselves and take action. In most cases, action, not luck, equals success.

5. They produce more than what’s expected

Successful people go above and beyond when it comes to delivering ideas and time to a project. You only have to look at a few flourishing business owners and executives to see that, from the time they started in their career, they produced more than what was expected of them. So, the next time you or someone on your management team thinks you’ve done enough, do just a little bit more. It can pay off big in the long run.

6. They aren’t afraid of hearing “no”

Countless top CEOs in American business heard the word “no” many times on their way up. Adam Bryant, in his book “ The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed,” cites several CEOs who faced adversity but learned from their hardships and used those learnings to develop a strong work ethic.

Brad Smith is executive vice president customer experience for Sage North America, responsible for developing all aspects of the Sage commitment to the customer experience from product design to the invoice experience and all touchpoints in between. He is responsible for all aspects of North American customer support.